TWI578356B - Key structure and keyboard - Google Patents

Description

Button structure and keyboard

The present invention relates to a keyboard, and more particularly to a key structure of a keyboard.

With the popularization of electronic devices, various input devices are also widely used. In electronic products such as desktop computers, notebook computers, or communication phones, input devices such as keyboards, mice, or touch panels have become the most common medium for communication between users and electronic products.

The conventional keyboard uses an elastic member to provide an elastic restoring force of the keycap, and supports the keycap with a scissor-foot structure, so that the keycap can be returned to the position before pressing. However, the structure of the scissor foot is not easy to assemble, and the pressing stroke is high, which is not suitable for use in a thin keyboard. In addition, when the cap is pressed, the downward pressure is transmitted to the thin film circuit board made by the double-layer circuit by the elastic member. If the downward pressure is too small, the double-layer line is not easily contacted, so the sensitivity is poor.

The invention relates to a button structure of a keyboard, which is driven by a connecting rod to contact a thin film circuit board to generate a button signal.

According to an aspect of the present invention, a button structure is provided, including a A frame or bottom plate, a keycap, a thin film circuit board, and a first link. The thin film circuit board has a first contact portion. One end of the first link is pivotally connected to the keycap, and the other end is pivotally connected to the frame or the bottom plate. The first link is provided with a first conductive portion located above the first contact portion. When the keycap is pressed, the first link is adjacent to the thin film circuit board, so that the first conductive portion contacts the first contact portion to generate a button signal.

In order to better understand the above and other aspects of the present invention, the preferred embodiments are described below, and in conjunction with the drawings, the detailed description is as follows:

10‧‧‧ keyboard

100, 101‧‧‧ button structure

110‧‧‧Key Cap

111‧‧‧ pivotal parts

121‧‧‧First Link

1211‧‧‧First Conductive Department

1221‧‧‧Second Conductive Department

122‧‧‧second connecting rod

123‧‧‧Frame

124‧‧‧ Positioning Department

125‧‧‧Film board

126‧‧‧Substrate

127‧‧‧ conductive traces

1271‧‧‧First contact

1272‧‧‧Second contact

128‧‧‧floor

1281‧‧‧ first hole

1282‧‧‧ second hole

131‧‧‧First magnetic parts

132‧‧‧Second magnetic parts

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a keyboard and a button structure thereof according to an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing the structure of a single button in FIG. 1.

3A and 3B are diagrams showing the operation of the first link and the second link in Fig. 2.

4A and 4B are schematic views showing a structure of a button according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The embodiments are described in detail below, and the embodiments are only intended to be illustrative and not intended to limit the scope of the invention.

First embodiment

Please refer to FIG. 1 , 2 , 3A and 3B , FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a keyboard 10 and a button structure 100 thereof according to an embodiment of the invention, and FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of a single button structure 100 in FIG. 1 . . Figures 3A and 3B show the first 2 is a schematic diagram of the operation of the first link 121 and the second link 122, but for convenience of explanation, the frame 123 is not shown.

Referring to FIG. 2 , the button structure 100 of the embodiment includes a key cap 110 , a first link 121 , a second link 122 , a frame 123 , a thin film circuit board 125 , and a bottom plate 128 . The thin film circuit board 125 is disposed on the bottom plate 128. The frame 123 is disposed between the keycap 110 and the thin film circuit board 125. The two ends of the first link 121 and the two ends of the second link 122 are respectively pivotally connected to the positioning portion 124 of the frame 123 or pivoted to the bottom plate 128. The frame 123 is fixed to the bottom plate 128. In addition, the positioning portion 124 may be disposed on the bottom plate 128.

In addition, the left and right sides of the key cap 110 respectively have two pivoting members 111. The positions of the two pivoting members 111 are opposite to the left and right sides of the first connecting rod 121 and the left and right sides of the second connecting rod 122, respectively. The first link 121 and the second link 122 are connected. In addition, the first connecting rod 121 is provided with a first conductive portion 1211 between the left and right sides of the first connecting rod 121, and the second connecting rod 122 is provided with a second conductive portion 1221 at the left and right sides of the second connecting rod 122. between. In this embodiment, the first conductive portion 1211 and the second conductive portion 1221 are respectively disposed at the center of the first link 121 and the second link 122, and can be bent downward, but in another embodiment, the first The positions of the conductive portion 1211 and the second conductive portion 1221 may also be on both sides or one side of the first link 121 and the second link 122.

In addition, when the first link 121 and the second link 122 are made of a metal material, they are electrically conductive, so that the conductive portion is integrally formed with the rod body, so that no additional conductive material is required on the rod body, however, a link 121 and a second link 122 When it is a non-conductive material, it is necessary to additionally attach a metal piece or a graphite piece to the first link 121 and the second link 122 as the first conductive portion 1211 and the second conductive portion 1221.

Referring to FIG. 2, the thin film circuit board 125 includes a substrate 126 and two conductive traces 127 formed on the substrate 126. The positions of the first conductive portion 1211 and the second conductive portion 1221 are above the two conductive traces 127. Therefore, when the first conductive portion 1211 and/or the second conductive portion 1221 are in contact with the two conductive traces 127, the first conductive portion 1211 and/or the second conductive portion 1221 are turned on. The current flowing through one of the conductive traces 127 may flow through the first conductive portion 1211 and/or the second conductive portion 1221 to the other conductive trace 127 to form a conductive loop. Therefore, the processor (not shown) can be pressed to generate a button signal by detecting the on current response button. Specifically, one end of each conductive trace 127 has a first contact portion 1271 , and the position of the first contact portion 1271 corresponds to the first conductive portion 1211 . The other end of each of the conductive traces 127 has a second contact portion 1272, and the position of the second contact portion 1272 corresponds to the second conductive portion 1221. Therefore, as long as one of the conductive portions is in contact with the contact portion of the two conductive traces 127, a button signal is generated.

Referring to FIGS. 3A and 3B, when the keycap 110 is not pressed, the keycap 110, the first link 121 and the second link 122 are in an unpressed position with respect to the thin film circuit board 125; when the keycap 110 is pressed When moving toward the thin film circuit board 125, the first link 121 and the second link 122 are brought closer to the thin film circuit board 125 to move the keycap 110 from the unpressed position to the pressed position. At this time, the first link 121 and the second link 122 are parallel to each other and rotate in the same direction to respectively contact the respective conductive traces. The first contact portion 1271 of the line 127 and the second contact portion 1272.

When the external force is released, an elastic restoring force (not shown) disposed under the keycap 110 can provide an elastic restoring force to return the keycap 110 to the position before the pressing. In addition, the elastic restoring force required for the keycap 110 may also be provided by an elastic member disposed on the first link 121 and/or the second link 122, which is not limited in the present invention.

In the 3A and 3B drawings, when the keycap 110 is moved between the unpressed position and the pressed position, the keycap 110 is rotated by the rotation of the first link 121 and the second link 122, so that the movement thereof is moved. The track is curved. Of course, the button structure 100 of the present invention can also be provided with a side-sliding link to move the keycap 110 up and down with respect to the bottom plate 128, so that the movement track can be a straight line. For example, one end of the side sliding link is fixedly pivoted on the frame 123 or the bottom plate 128, the other end is slidably pivoted relative to the keycap 110, or one end of the side sliding link is fixedly pivoted to the keycap. The other end is slidably pivotally coupled to the frame 123 or the bottom plate 128. At this time, the conductive portion of the side sliding link can still be electrically connected to the contact portion of the two conductive traces 127 to generate a button signal, which is consistent with the efficacy of the first link 121 or the second link 122.

In the 3A and 3B, the bottom plate 128 has a first hole 1281 and a second hole 1282. The position of the first hole 1281 is located below the first contact portion 1271 so that when the first contact portion 1271 is pressed. The first contact portion 1271 may be recessed in the first hole 1281. The second hole 1282 is located below the second contact portion 1272 so that the second contact portion 1272 can be recessed in the first hole 1281 when the second contact portion 1272 is pressed. In addition, when the first conductive portion 1211 and the second conductive portion 1221 contact the first contact portion 1271 and the second contact portion 1272, respectively, the first conductive portion The portion 1211 and the second conductive portion 1221 may also be partially or completely buried in the first hole 1281 and the second hole 1282 to reduce the barrier of the bottom plate 128 and increase the pressing stroke of the button. Moreover, the bottom plate 128 is provided with the first hole 1281 and the second hole 1282, and the first conductive portion 1211 and the second conductive portion 1221 are prevented from directly applying a force to the bottom plate 128, which has a better buffering effect.

Second embodiment

Referring to FIGS. 4A and 4B, a schematic diagram of a button structure 101 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention is shown. The key structure 101 of the embodiment includes the first magnetic member, the first connecting rod 121, the second connecting rod 122, the frame 123, the thin film circuit board 125 and the bottom plate 128, as well as a first magnetic member. 131 and a second magnetic member 132. The following embodiment illustrates that the magnetic attraction moves the keycap 110 relative to the bottom plate 128, but the invention is not limited thereto. For convenience of explanation, only a part of the frame 123 in Fig. 2 is shown in Figs. 4A and 4B.

The first magnetic member 131 is disposed on the frame 123 or the bottom plate 128, and the second magnetic member 132 is disposed on the key cap 110. The first magnetic member 131 corresponds to the position of the second magnetic member 132. For example, the second magnetic member 132 is disposed on one side of the keycap 110, and the first magnetic member 131 is disposed on the frame adjacent to the side of the keycap 110. 123 or bottom plate 128. When one of the first magnetic member 131 and the second magnetic member 132 is a magnet, the other of the first magnetic member 131 and the second magnetic member 132 may be a magnetic conductive material or a magnet.

In FIG. 4A, when the keycap 110 is not pressed, a magnetic attraction between the second magnetic member 132 and the first magnetic member 131 maintains the keycap 110 at Pressing position; in FIG. 4B, when the keycap 110 is pressed by an external force to cause the second magnetic member 132 to move away from the first magnetic member 131, the keycap 110 is moved from the unpressed position to the first and second links 122. Press the position.

When the external force is released, the magnetic attraction causes the first magnetic member 131 and the second magnetic member 132 to approach, so that the keycap 110 is returned from the pressed position of the FIG. 4B to the first and second links 121 and 122. Press the position.

The button structure and the keyboard disclosed in the above embodiments of the present invention contact the two conductive traces by using the conductive portions of the first link and/or the second link with short pressing stroke and good conductivity sensitivity, so the thin film circuit board only The two-conductor traces produced by a single layer are required to be contacted to generate a button signal, so that the two-conductor traces produced by the double layer are not required to be contacted to generate a button signal, thereby saving the manufacturing cost of the thin-film circuit board. In addition, the pressing stroke of the button is shortened, and the overall thickness of the keyboard can be reduced, thereby achieving the requirement of thinning the keyboard. Furthermore, the conductive portion of the connecting rod is a metal or stone grinding, which is then turned on after contacting the two conductive traces, and can be turned on without pressing, so the sensitivity is obviously improved.

In conclusion, the present invention has been disclosed in the above preferred embodiments, and is not intended to limit the present invention. A person skilled in the art can make various changes and modifications without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Therefore, the scope of the invention is defined by the scope of the appended claims.

100‧‧‧Key structure

110‧‧‧Key Cap

111‧‧‧ pivotal parts

121‧‧‧First Link

1211‧‧‧First Conductive Department

1221‧‧‧Second Conductive Department

122‧‧‧second connecting rod

123‧‧‧Frame

124‧‧‧ Positioning Department

125‧‧‧Film board

126‧‧‧Substrate

127‧‧‧ conductive traces

1271‧‧‧First contact

1272‧‧‧Second contact

128‧‧‧floor

1281‧‧‧ first hole

1282‧‧‧ second hole

Claims (14)

A button structure, comprising: a frame; a keycap; a thin film circuit board disposed under the frame, the thin film circuit board having a first contact portion; a first link, one end of the first link pivotally connected to the a key cap, the other end pivotally connecting the frame, the first link is provided with a first conductive portion located above the first contact portion; wherein when the key cap is pressed, the first link is adjacent to the thin film circuit board, The first conductive portion contacts the first contact portion to generate a button signal, wherein the first contact portion is provided with a first hole, and when the first contact portion is pressed by the first conductive portion, the first contact The portion is recessed in the first hole; and a second link, one end of the second link is pivotally connected to the keycap, and the other end is pivotally connected to the frame. The button structure of claim 1, wherein the trajectory of the key cap moving between the unpressed position and the pressed position is curved. The button structure of claim 1, wherein the film circuit board further comprises a second contact portion, the second link further includes a second conductive portion, and the second conductive portion is located at the second contact portion Above. The button structure of claim 1, wherein the material of the first conductive portion comprises metal or graphite, and the first conductive portion is integrally formed with or attached to the first link. The button structure of claim 1, further comprising a first magnetic member and a second magnetic member, the first magnetic member being disposed on the frame, the second magnetic a member is disposed on the keycap, wherein when the keycap is not pressed, a magnetic attraction between the second magnetic member and the first magnetic member maintains the keycap in the unpressed position; When the key cap is pressed by an external force to cause the second magnetic member to be away from the first magnetic member, the key cap is moved to the pressing position by the unpressed position with the first and second links; when the external force is released, The magnetic attraction causes the first magnetic member to be in close proximity to the second magnetic member such that the keycap returns to the undepressed position with the first and second links from the pressed position. The button structure of claim 1, wherein one of the first magnetic member and the second magnetic member is a magnet. A keyboard comprising the button structure described in one of claims 1 to 6. A button structure includes: a bottom plate; a key cap; a thin film circuit board having a first contact portion; a first link, one end of the first link is pivotally connected to the key cap, and the other end is pivotally connected to the bottom plate The first connecting rod is disposed with a first conductive portion located above the first contact portion; wherein when the key cap is pressed, the first connecting rod is adjacent to the thin film circuit board, so that the first conductive portion contacts the first portion a first button is disposed under the first contact portion, and the first contact portion is recessed in the first portion when the first contact portion is pressed by the first conductive portion. And a second connecting rod, one end of the second connecting rod is pivotally connected to the keycap, and the other end is pivotally connected to the bottom plate. The button structure of claim 8, wherein the trajectory of the key cap moving between the unpressed position and the pressed position is curved. The button structure of claim 8, wherein the film circuit board further comprises a second contact portion, the second link further includes a second conductive portion, and the second conductive portion is located at the second contact portion Above. The button structure of claim 8, wherein the material of the first conductive portion comprises metal or graphite, and the first conductive portion is integrally formed with or attached to the first link. The button structure of claim 8, further comprising a frame, a first magnetic member and a second magnetic member, the first magnetic member is disposed on the frame, and the second magnetic member is disposed on the button a cap, wherein when the key cap is not pressed, a magnetic force between the second magnetic member and the first magnetic member maintains the key cap in the unpressed position; when the key cap is pressed by an external force When the second magnetic member is away from the first magnetic member, the key cap is moved to the pressing position by the unpressed position; and when the external force is released, the magnetic force causes the first A magnetic member is adjacent to the second magnetic member such that the keycap returns to the undepressed position from the pressed position by the first and second links. The button structure of claim 8, wherein one of the first magnetic member and the second magnetic member is a magnet. A keyboard comprising the key structure described in one of claims 8 to 13.